And it makes me think and wonder about how to make sure I am creating an environment where my students (and at home - my own four children) are full of wonder. Sometimes it feels like the curriculum is so jam packed full of "stuff" to learn that we don't give students time to really get in and go deeper and learn what they really want to know. Today I went to a technology conference and much of the day was spent talking about this. Kids today are in a position to access information in ways that we were never able. Our role is definitely becoming more about teaching them how to learn and discover and desegregate the information they gather, as opposed to filling them up with a finite set of information. It is very exciting to think about. I learned a lot of new information about Project Based Learning which I am thinking and wondering about. I am hoping to start to incorporate it into my classroom more and more.
How do you keep kids wondering when you have so much else to do??? I would love to hear your ideas. I am so blessed to have a digital classroom with 1:1 technology everyday. One of the things that we do is keep a wonder board. Whenever we have something we are wondering about, and don't have the time to look it up right away, we write it on a sticky note and put it up. When someone finishes early or has some free time they can go pull off a topic and look it up. They are supposed to write it down on the sticky note and put it back up for everyone to read, but we all know what that really looks like in reality... they find the information and yell it out to the whole class because they are so excited! I have to admit there is a part of me that still gets irritated by the yelling out... but I have been thinking a lot about it, and when they are yelling out, they are truly excited about being able to direct their own learning.... which is sort of my whole objective, right? Before I started on this digital journey, I sort of pictured my classroom as a quieter place, kids with headphones on typing away. It is so the opposite, they are PUMPED about sharing what they find, they are completely engaged in what they are doing. So I am having to switch my paradigms and learning to embrace the chaos. I just hope my administrators do too when they come to observe my very loud room!
Hoping your day is full of wonder!!
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